NATURALISTIC THEISTIC ARGUMENTS SHOWING GOD
C. Reason: There are several arguments for the existence of God from reason. Walvoord says these arguments are inductive and proceed from
1. Argumentum A Posteriori: This is the argument from effect to cause
If you see or observe an effect you know there was a cause. If you come up to a car that is upside down in the ditch you know there has been an unexpected occurrence. That is the effect — the cause may be a number of things, but you can be sure there was some cause.
We lived in an apartment in Salem, OR located on a curve at the edge of town. We had numerous accidents every year on the curve. One morning early we heard a crash and I went to see if I could help. Another car was just pulling off in a hurry. The driver of the wrecked car said he had taken the corner at 30 miles per hour and he didn’t know what happened. I was told by one of our sons before going to the scene that the two cars had been drag racing. He knew the cause of the effect just as well as I did, even though the driver just couldn’t figure out what happened.
This argument for the existence of God is quite effective with people that don’t know if God exists. These arguments are very logical in their approach, and thus conducive to acceptance by both the intellectual mind and the mind of a less educated person.
This line of argumentation moves from the end product that we are, and in which we live (creation), backward to what was in the past — only One that had intelligence, desire and power enough to create what we see today could have created it all. There must have been a being that had intelligence, desire and power enough to create, to have done so.
A well-built car, if examined, will demand there be a designer that had the desire to design and build such a device, as well as the power to build.
a. Cosmological: Cosmological comes from the term, “kosmos”
meaning orderly. Simply stated this tells us that we can observe the great and vast creation thus we must assume there was a great and vast power that was powerful enough to have created that creation.
There are four arguments concerning the creation that have been presented in the past.
1). Nature is eternal so there is no need for a cause.
2). Matter is eternal and therefore is self-developing. It can do as it wants — man has no direction or purpose — only the matter that is developing has purpose.
3). Matter is eternal however it’s present arrangement is due to the influence of God. Plato, Aristotle, and others held this thought. Man then may have some purpose else wise why would God influence matter.
4). Matter was created for the express purposes of Almighty God.
Only this final argument is consistent with the Revelation of God.
Pardington quotes Strong: “Everything begun, whether substance or phenomenon, owes its existence to some producing cause. The universe, at least so far as its present form is concerned, is a thing begun, and owes its existence to a cause equal to its production. This cause must be
indefinitely great.” (Pardington, Revelation George P. Ph.D.; “Outline Studies In Christian Doctrine”; Harrisburg, PA: Christian Publications, 1926, p 65)
This system of argumentation is based on three presuppositions:
1). If there is an effect there was a cause. If you enter a room and a thief is standing over me with his fist raised and I am laying on the floor, there must have been a cause for my reclining position.
2). The effect depends on the cause for its being. My reclining position is not because the price of eggs is higher today than yesterday in Chicago, but it may be because I said something about the way the thief was acting.
3). Nature cannot in and of itself produce itself. There had to have been a cause for the effect of nature.
Cause and effect. Everything begun owes it’s existence to some producing cause. Let us consider a room for example; something caused it; it didn’t just come into existence. This book — a cause somewhere caused it to come into existence.
Lockyer ends his study in this way:
“There is a power somewhere because there are effects everywhere.
“There is wisdom somewhere because wise deeds are accomplished everywhere.
“There is intelligence somewhere for there are order and arrangement everywhere.
“There is goodness somewhere for there are beneficent agents and resultant gladness everywhere.” (Taken from the book, ALL THE DOCTRINES OF THE BIBLE by Herbert Lockyer. Copyright 1964 by Zondervan Publishing House. Used by permission. p 21) b. Teleological: Simply stated is the fact that we can see design in the creation thus we must assume that creation was designed and created by a being that has design and order.
The term comes from the Greek word “telos” which means design or end.
If there is design then it is logical to assume there was a designer.
Pardington quoting Strong states, “Order and useful collation [means bringing together] pervading a system respectively imply intelligence and purpose as the cause of that order and collocation [means arranging together]. Since order and collocation pervade the universe, there must exist an intelligence adequate to the production of this order, and a will adequate to direct this collocation to useful ends” (Pardington, pp 66, 67) I once took apart a Norelco razor — there had to have been a designer — it was too well engineered to just have come into existence in some junk yard somewhere. The universe is full of examples of the great design to be found in the creation in which we live.
Cambron mentions the design whereby ice floats to the top of water thereby allowing fish life to live through cold weather. If ice sank to the bottom then all above would also freeze killing the fish.
Reason for the design is indicative of intelligent thought processes of a being that designed due to a reason and created. Intelligent thought processes also indicates the personality of the designer.
The human eye and it’s intricacies. The seed that can be planted and spring forth to life as a plant and later as fruit.
It should be noted that the skeptics must admit that the world is ordered.
They are left with the problem of explaining how the order came into being if there was no order. They must rely on disordered primordial gluck moving from itself to a finely ordered world of today. This idea is not only illogical but it lacks reason.
Some might state that the order and design came from the natural working of the laws of nature. If this is true where then did the orderly laws of nature come from if not from an orderly God.
c. Anthropological: Simply stated this point says that man has a spiritual side that did not happen by chance — we must assume there is a spiritual being that created him.
Pardington states, “The argument may be represented in three parts:
a. “Man’s intellectual and moral nature requires for its author an intellectual and moral Being. The mind cannot evolve from matter, neither can spirit evolve from flesh. Consequently, a Being having both mind and spirit must have created man.
b. “Man’s moral nature proves the existence of a holy Lawgiver and Judge. Otherwise, conscience cannot be satisfactorily explained.
c. “Man’s emotional and volitional nature requires for its author a Being, who, as Dr. Strong says, “can furnish in Himself a satisfying object of human affection and an end which will call forth man’s highest activities and ensure his highest progress.” (Pardington, p 68) Ryrie states, “Inasmuch as God has created man with unusual qualities not found in any other created being, it is possible for man, on the basis of what he is, to have some concept of what God is. Man is composed of both material and immaterial elements.” (Taken from: “A Survey Of Bible Doctrine”; Ryrie, Charles C.; Copyright 1972, Moody Bible Institute of Chicago; Moody Press. Used by permission.)
In using this argument you must be careful to not use “God” in your proof of God’s existence. I think that Ryrie needs to reconsider his argument. It
would be better to say that because man has qualities that animals do not have there is some reason for that difference. We can assume that due to our makeup that a creator would probably have some of those same characteristics, which He gave to us.
Ryrie goes on to say that a being creating man with “Life, intellect, sensibility, will, conscience, and inherent belief in God” must also have those attributes. (Taken from: “A Survey Of Bible Doctrine”; Ryrie, Charles C.; Copyright 1972, Moody Bible Institute of Chicago; Moody Press. Used by permission.)
Some submit man’s moral nature as indicative of a moral God as well.
Indeed, some call this whole thought the Moral argument.
In concluding the three arguments Walvoord states the following:
“(1) In the cosmological argument, the existence of the cosmos, originating in time, constitutes proof of a First Cause who is self- existent and eternal and who possesses intelligence, power, and will.
“(2) In the teleological argument the evidence of design extends the proof of the intelligence of the First Cause into details of telescopic grandeur and microscopic perfection far beyond the feeble ability of man to discover or comprehend.
“(3) In the anthropological argument, though confirming the proofs advanced in the two preceding arguments, an added indication is secured which suggests the elements in the First Cause of intellect, sensibility, and will, which are the essentials of personality; the moral feature of conscience in man indicates that his Creator is the One who actuates holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.” (Reprinted by
permission: Walvoord, John F. editor; “Lewis Sperry Chafer Systematic Theology”; Wheaton: Victor Books, Vol. I & II, 1988, p 122)
d. Christological: Simply stated this argument shows that if we can observe so many things related to Christ that cannot be humanly produced, we must assume there was a supernatural being that produced the effects.
This point is closely related to Scriptural proofs of God’s existence yet the unsaved philosophical mind must cope with it if he is to be honest.
If there is no God then how do you account for:
1). The Bible and its longevity.
2). Fulfillment of prophecy.
3). The miracles.
4). Supernatural character and divine mission of Christ.
5). Christianity’s influence on the world.
6). The fact of conversion and the change in people’s lives.
If there is no God then you must account in some way for all of the above.
e. Congruity: Congruity simply stated says, if you have a system of thought that fits the facts of the effect then you must assume the system of thought contains facts that are correct about the cause. This comes from the state of being “harmoniously related or united.”
(Bancroft, Emery H./Ed. Mayers, Ronald B.; “Christian Theology”;
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976, p 66)
The following is an argument that follows this line of thinking. If a key fits the lock of the door and it unlocks the lock then it is the correct key to the door. If an infinite God fits all the facts that we perceive, then He is the answer that we seek.
2. Argumentum A Priori: This argument by definition works from the